Who's in the Driveway?
by mojoman3061
Summary: Gordo sees a girl shooting baskets in the McGuires' driveway. Is it Lizzie's cousin?
1. Chapter 1

Gordo was on his way to hang out at Lizzie's. He, Lizzie, and Miranda probably spent as much time at each other's houses as they did at their own. From Lizzie's house, Gordo could go home, get his camcorder, and be back in ten minutes.

Because of the lay of the land in the neighborhood, Gordo could see the McGuires' driveway before anyone on the driveway could see him. As the driveway came into view, Gordo saw something that nearly stopped him in his tracks.

A blond girl was working on her free throws and outside shots. Her back was to Gordo as she faced the basket, so he couldn't see her face. Her hair was pulled back into a messy ponytail, held in place by a scrunchie. She wore athletic shorts and a tank top, and moved gracefully around the driveway barefoot.

She made most of the shots Gordo saw. She obviously knew what she was doing with a basketball; Gordo was impressed. One shot got away from her somehow, hit hard off the rim, and bounced down the driveway to the street.

"Here, I've got it," Gordo said as the ball bounced to him.

"Thanks. Gordo?" The girl slowed to a stop a few steps from him.

"Yeah. Heather?"

"That's me." She smiled. "How are you?"

"Great. I didn't know you were in town."

Heather was Lizzie's cousin. When Lizzie wanted Gordo to help her clean out the janitor's utility room for Fright Night in 7th grade, he wasn't keen on helping her do what Kate Sanders wanted until Lizzie said she'd get Heather to go out with Gordo when she visited in the summer. Gordo's reaction was, "Quit your yappin'. We've got work to do."

"We got in last night, kind of late," Heather explained. "Shall we go inside? The gang's all here."

"Okay." Gordo and Heather walked side by side, bounce-passing the basketball back and forth. Even though Gordo was short, he was a pretty good basketball player. Parker McKenzie could testify to both.

"Hey, everybody, Gordo's here," Heather announced to the group in the living room, who greeted him warmly. Miranda was sprawled on the couch, and Matt shared a big recliner chair with Melina.

"Where's Lizzie?" Gordo asked.

"In the kitchen, baking," Miranda answered.

"She kicked us out," Melina muttered.

"What did you do to her?" Gordo asked in mock anger.

"Nothing," Matt and Melina replied, almost in unison.

"Seriously, nobody did anything, Gordo," Miranda explained. "Lizzie's just a little weird about baking sometimes."

"Yeah, she it," Gordo said as he joined Miranda and Heather on the couch. "The end results are always worth waiting for, though."

"Made any movies lately, Gordo?" Heather asked.

"Not for a while, why?"

"Just curious. Lizzie showed me some of that sci-fi movie you used a credit card for."

"Oh boy," Gordo said, rolling his eyes. "That was a nightmare. You were in Mexico, Miranda, so you missed it. I expect you've heard at least some of the story from Lizzie."

"Yeah. You got that credit card in the mail and charged everything for your sci-fi movie on it, she got worried that you were in over your head, you took that as her being not supportive and got mad, then when you apologized to her, she thought she should have been the one apologizing to you."

"That's about it, all in one sentence," Gordo said.

"Oh--everything came screeching to a halt when the pizza delivery guy cut your card in two. I forgot that part," said Miranda. Turning to Heather, Miranda continued, "That was before the apologizing part."

"Ah. Right," Heather said, nodding conspiratorially.

"Wow. Compared to that, the kung fu movie we made was a piece of cake," said Matt.

"Kung fu movie?" Melina asked Matt. "Why wasn't I in on this?"

"I don't think I knew you yet. They were having a contest to be Jet Li's sidekick in a movie. Dad wanted me to write an essay, but you could make a movie too. I think there was something else they'd accept, but I forget what. Anyway, Gordo was uninvited to go shopping for--"

"School supplies!" Gordo blurted.

"It's okay, Gordo. Heather's heard the bra-shopping story," Miranda said.


	2. Chapter 2

"Alas, poor Gordo," Heather said, playfully teasing Gordo and patting him on the back.

"Wait. Bra-shopping? School supplies? A kung fu movie? What's the common denominator here?" Melina asked.

"We-e-ell," Matt began, sounding like he was enjoying this a little too much, "Lizzie and Miranda came home asking Mom to take them shopping for school supplies. They were in 7th grade. Anyway, Mom called Gordo because he was in all their classes and he'd need whatever they needed. When he showed up, Lizzie got all flustered and was trying to convince Mom that Gordo didn't need to go without saying exactly why. To make a long story short, Mom broke her down. Lizzie admitted that she and Miranda wanted bras. At that point, Gordo didn't want to go anymore."

"No, I didn't," Gordo said through clenched teeth. "You know what, Matt? Finish the kung fu movie story; I'm going to at least say hello to Lizzie." He got up and went to the kitchen, being careful to step around the girls' flip-flops on the floor.

"Lizzie? It's me," Gordo said at the kitchen door.

"Gordo! Hi! Come on in," Lizzie said, looking up from the oven and seeing him.

"Are you sure? Melina says you kicked everyone out."

"These are my famous chocolate chip cookies, and I get fussy about how they turn out. I have to be careful they don't burn. But it's okay, they're cooling off. C'mere," she said, smiling and holding her arms out for a hug.

"A hug _and_ chocolate chip cookies? To what do I owe this honor?" Gordo asked as they released from the hug.

"You're just in time for the cookies to finish, and Heather's here." A strand of hair had come loose from Lizzie's headscard, and she pushed it away from her face. She was in her "kitchen casual" clothes: an apron over shorts and a tank top. From the front it looked like Lizzie was wearing a skirt. She was barefoot; Gordo had been careful not to step on her toes.

"Oh, good. Shall I fix drinks while you supervise the cooling cookies?"

"Sure," Lizzie said, giggling briefly at Gordo's "cooling cookies" remark. "We've got soft drinks and juices in the fridge."

"Okay, I'll see what's in there. Oh—we better have napkins with those cookies," Gordo cautioned. Lizzie's chocolate chips cookies were soft and lumpy, and it was easy to get chocolate on one's fingers.

"I'm way ahead of you," Lizzie said as she started to arrange things for serving her refreshments.

Gordo returned a moment later and headed for the refrigerator to get everyone's drinks. "Oh, good, they've cooled," he said, noticing the empty baking sheets.

"There's a tray to put the drinks on," Lizzie pointed out, gesturing with her spatula.

A few minutes later, the six teenagers were happily eating and drinking Lizzie's famous chocolate chip cookies and their chosen beverages. Everything had been placed on a low coffee table, and the kids sat on the floor around the table.

"Lizzie! These cookies are awesome!" Heather enthused. Gordo smiled quietly to himself; Heather had reminded him of Lizzie.

"Much as I hate to admit it, Sis," Matt said in his showy way, "you bake a mean cookie." Melina nodded and made a noise probably in agreement with Matt, but her mouth was full.

"See? What did I tell you?" Miranda said to Heather.

"I've never made these for you before?" Lizzie asked Heather.

"No. With your mom and my mom and Iron Chef, the only time you and I ever got in the kitchen was to get movie snacks," Heather replied.

"Iron Chef?" Miranda, Gordo, and Melina asked.

"That's what we called Uncle Sam when he cooked eels," Heather explained.

"Eww," Miranda said quietly as Melina scrunched up her face.

"Thanks for the munchies, Lizzie, but we've gotta go," Melina said.

"We're supposed to meet Lanny and Oscar at the park," Matt clarified. "I don't want another of Lanny's lectures about punctuality."

Goodbyes were said as Matt and Melina left, Melina carrying her flip-flops.

Heather turned her head to Gordo. "So, Gordo, when are we going out on our date?"

"Date?" Heather had caught Gordo off guard, to the delight of Lizzie and Miranda.

"Gordo and I _always_ go out when I visit. Don't we, Gordo?" Heather, in a playful mood, threw her arm carelessly around Gordo's shoulders.

"I remember you guys did when Heather visited the summer after 7th grade," Lizzie said.

"Exactly! See? It's a tradition!"


End file.
